How the The Digital Revolution is Shaping Education

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How the The Digital Revolution is Shaping Education

"The most transforming technological event since the capture of fire." This is the way one expert describes the revolution introduced in this century by computers. Such extravagant interpretations aside, there is no doubt that the acceleration of computer technology has produced enormous changes in all our lives. As late as the 1950s, computers were rarely seen outside university centers. Now, of course, they are everywhere, in classrooms, libraries, offices, stores, factories, research labs, and, increasingly, in our homes.

Even those who fear that it may lead to the decline of the book acknowledge what appear to be positive effects of the new technol-ogy: easier revision of writing, greater access to information, rapid solution of difficult problems, greater freedom in selection of the workplace, additional sources of entertainment, and global communication, both personal and professional.

But the number of naysayers is growing. In the words of Nicholas Negroponte, professor of media technology at the Massachusetts In-stitute of Technology, "Every technology or gift of science has a dark side." We have already identified some of the problems: loss of em-ployment, invasion of privacy, unscrupulous use of the technology, isolation from the physical world and other people. In time we will un-doubtedly solve some of these problems, but others will remain.

Some critics have asked if the revolution can be halted, or at least slowed, if it encounters serious resistance. But, according to one view, "It is coming, whether we like it or not." Given its in-evitability, then, does the greater freedom of this medium, which en-ables anybody to publish his or her views, mean that our discourse will be enriched? Or are we simply creating more noise? Not least, will the development and embrace of this technology affect our

human nature? Marshall McLuhan, an influential scholar, remarked, "We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." Will we be-come different creatures — separated from nature, isolated in front of our screens, unable to distinguish between the reality and the image?

As students, you are at the center of an important controversy about the distribution and use of computers in schools. In his State of the Union address in 1996, President Clinton called for computers in every classroom and library by the year 2000. This ambitious goal is not likely to be met, and if it is not, will children in schools with access to technological innovation enjoy a significant educational advantage over children in schools without?

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